Kim Kardashian is Killing Candy Crush

Who would’ve thought that reality star and celebutante Kim Kardashian is the one that’s going to pull down the popularity of “Candy Crush” and hurt its earnings?

Kardashian is severely hurting King Digital Entertainment, the company behind the game “Candy Crush”. Last Tuesday, the gaming company stated in its quarterly earnings report a sales drop as well as missed analyst estimates. This was mostly because of the decreasing popularity of the “Candy Crush” game. The company is still developing new games, but so far, none of the games they released have caught the public imagination like the Candy Crush. The company’s stock is taking a beating, down 23 percent.

In a recently released note, Deutsche Bank downgraded the “Candy Crush” maker, giving two reasons.

First reason: Since “Candy Crush” hit the public and became the ultimate game at the moment back then, King Digital Entertainment has not yet repeated its success.

The second reason: Deutsche Bank views that playing King games is way too expensive. Thus other games that are cheaper are taking huge chunks from the market which “Candy Crush” has dominated for some time.

Deutsche Bank downgraded the company from “buy” to “hold”. It also cut the company’s price target on the stock from a high of $27 to $12 dollars.

So how does Kardashian fit in the picture?

Well, competition in the casual gaming industry is very fierce and is always on the lookout for the next newest and hottest games. Mobile games can be fleeting and trendy, and can be quickly displaced at a second. Kardashian’s “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood” and other games such as “2048” are quickly gaining followers and players away from erstwhile game leaders such as “Candy Crush”. In short, “Candy Crush” is losing its share to games that are equally addictive but cheaper, such as “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood,” which is considered the hottest game right now and created by King’s rival, Glu Mobile.

Of course, what’s a game named after a Kardashian without controversies? The game has been getting flak from parents who are appalled how their children are using credit cards and spending money to buy in-app shopping items in the game. Kardashian has defended the game from such complaints.

According to reports, the game will earn for Kardashian a cool $85 million just for this year alone.

As the reality star’s wildly addictive game “Kim Kardashian: Hiollywood” continues to get more downloads—never mind if its aesthetic value is arguably dubious—“Candy Crush” and its company may go down the hill sooner than later.